Luhrmann said: "One of the big devices in the book is that the story is told from inside the mind of Nick Carraway... [he is] a watcher of and a participator in the story. In fact, in the novel, Fitzgerald very deftly alludes to the fact that Nick is writing a book about Jay Gatsby.

"So Craig and I were looking for a way that we could show, rather than just have disembodied voiceover throughout the whole film, show Nick actually dealing with the writing, dealing with his experience of Gatsby, as he does in the novel.

"How we do really is the one big difference in the film. I won't say how. I will let the audience discover that for themselves."